The holidays are here and many are already on the hunt for big shopping bargains. But Lisa Beth Brown, Area Director with U.S. Customs and Border Protection says consumers should be on the lookout for counterfeit products.

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"We're looking for things that are popular like new movie releases or new cartoon characters or something that there might be a demand for and we're going to put that on our radar.”

According to Brown, counterfeit products are big business. Last year there were 28,000 seizures nation-wide, most of which came from China.

"Had all of those goods been genuine, they would've sold for 1.3 billion dollars,” Brown said.

But it is not just about the money- the products, many of them targeted toward children, can pose a health or safety risk.

"These backpacks here and these school supply kits- all of them have too much lead,” Brown pointed out in a press conference Tuesday. “The same thing with these baby rattles. As you would expect that a child would put this in their mouth and this too did test too high for lead,” she added.

Brown and her team work with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to test all sorts of things like last year's hottest holiday gift, the Hoverboard. She said the most common violation that they saw was counterfeit batteries that were being put into the Hoverboards. She said in many ways the batteries were bound together as battery packs, in a way that was not authorized by any of the manufacturers.

Brown said the best way to stay safe and keep these products out of your home is to be an informed consumer. Do your research and purchase products from recognized sources. She added if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

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WITH BLACK FRIDAY JUST
AROUND THE CORNER, WE'RE ALL
LOOKING FOR THE BEST BARGAINS,
RIGHT? AND MANY OF US WILL
DO JUST ABOUT ANYTHING TO GET
OUR HANDS ON SOME OF THE
HOTTEST PRODUCTS. BUT
SHOPPERS BEWARE LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WARN THE
OLD ADAGE IS TRUE- YOU GET
WHAT YOU PAY FO AND IN
SOME CASES, IT COULD POSE A
RISK TO YOUR SAFETY OR HEALTH.
3
:13 - :18 THE HOLIDAYS ARE
HERE AND FOLKS ARE ALREADY ON
THE HUNT FOR PRODUCTS JUST
LIKE THESE.BUT THERE'S ONE
MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE ITEMS
YOU SEE HERE- THEY'RE
COUNTERFEIT..SEIZED BY U.S.
CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION.
"WE'RE LOOKING FOR THINGS THAT
ARE POPULAR LIKE NEW MOVIE
RELEASES OR NEW CARTOON
CHARACTERS OR SOMETHING THAT
THERE MIGHT BE A DEMAND FOR
AND WE'RE GOING TO PUT THAT ON
OUR RADAR." AREA PORT DIRECTOR
LISA BETH BROWN SAYS THESE
COUNTERFEIT PRODUCTS ARE BIG
BUSINESS.LAST YEAR THERE WERE
28-THOUSAND SEIZURES NATION
WIDE."HAD ALL OF THOSE GOODS
BEEN GENUINE, THEY WOULD'VE
SOLD FOR 1.3 BILLION DOLLARS."
BUT IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE
MONEY- THESE PRODUCTS, MANY OF
THEM TARGETED TOWARD CHILDREN,
CAN POSE A HEALTH OR SAFETY
RISK."THESE BACKPACKS HERE AND
THESE SCHOOL SUPPLY KITS- ALL
OF THEM HAVE TOO MUCH LEAD.THE
SAME THING WITH THESE BABY
RATTLES.AS YOU WOULD EXPECT
THAT A CHILD WOULD PUT THIS IN
THEIR MOUTH AND THIS TOO DID
TEST TOO HIGH FOR LEAD." BROWN
SAYS SHE AND HER TEAM WORK
WITH THE CONSUMER PRODUCT
SAFETY COMMISSION TO TEST ALL
SORTS OF THINGS LIKE LAST
YEAR'S HOTTEST HOLIDAY GIFT,
THE HOVER BOARD."THE MOST
COMMON VIOLATION THAT WE SAW
WAS COUNTERFEIT BATTERIES THAT
WERE BEING PUT INTO THE HOVER
BOARDS.IN MANY WAYS THE
BATTERIES WERE BOUND TOGETHER
AS BATTERY PACKS, IN A WAY
THAT WASN'T AUTHORIZED BY ANY
OF THE MANUFACTURERS." SO WHAT
CAN YOU DO TO STAY SAFE AND
KEEP THESE PRODUCTS OUT OF
YOUR HOME? "IT PAYS TO BE AN
INFORMED CONSUMER, AND I WOULD
CERTAINLY GO AND RESEARCH A
PRODUCT BEFORE YOU PURCHASE IT.
LOOK AT THE QUALITY-
COUNTERFEIT ITEMS ARE USUALLY
OF INFERIOR QUALITY."
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BROWN SAYS TRADE IN
COUNTERFEIT GOODS IS OFTEN
ASSOCIATED WITH SMUGGLING AND
OFTEN FUNDS CRIMINAL
ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTERPRISES.
IF YOU SUSPECT YOU'VE
BOUGHT A COUNTERFEIT PRODUCT..
SHE SAYS YOU CAN HAND IT
OVER TO US CUSTOMS AND BOARDER
PROTECTION, AND THEY'LL BE
HAPPY TO LOOK INTO IT FURTHER.